Haikyu!!: Collection 1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Haikyu!!: Collection 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

A pleasant surprise...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown July 10, 2015

Sports anime have generally had a tough go of it in the States, and Haikyu!! hasn't had it any easier. It's been an uphill battle since its June debut and, with Collection 2 (episodes 14-25) due in August, will most likely continue to have an uphill battle. And that's a real shame. Haikyu!! is a funny, compelling, altogether infectious series filled with characters as memorable as they are likable. Genre tropes abound, no argument here. But these are tropes done well, with the show's ragtag, underdog team rallying together and improving their skills with enough style, humor and, yes, on-the-court drama to make for a slick, wholly watchable sports anime. If there's any real drawback, it's how often scenes in Haikyu!! are bound to Karasuma High and off-site gym tournaments. Sports fans will probably appreciate how little time is spent following Shoyo home. I did. Newcomers to the genre, though, may be put off by how much volleyball is in Production I.G., director Susumu Mitsunaka and writer Taku Kishimoto's... ahem, volleyball anime. Sound silly? I hear you. But you'd be surprised -- or maybe you wouldn't; this is the internet after all -- how many people will complain, especially upon reaching Collection 2, which rarely steps off the court. So set your expectations accordingly. You shouldn't have a problem. There's just too much here to enjoy.

Collection One, Episodes 1-13: Shoyo Hinata isn't a large guy, but he's got huge ambitions. Ever since seeing a small player score in a National Championship, he's been determined to become the next big thing in High School Volleyball. Unfortunately, the one time he was able to pull enough players together to form a team in junior high, they were completely trashed in their first and only match against a team led by up-and-coming setter Tobio Kageyama. Now, enrolled at the same high school where his idol once played, Shoyo's finally going to get his shot to join and play with a top team. There's just one problem: Tobio Kageyama's decided to attend the same school, and he's already considered one of the best players in the game. Can a kid out of nowhere hold his own against the King of the Court? Or could the rivalry and competition actually be the best thing for both of them?

Volleyball is secondary to character in Haikyu!!, as it should be. Long shot upstart with something to prove Shoyo Hinata, stone-cold nationally recognized court ace Tobio Kageyama, diplomatic team captain Daichi Sawamura, irritable middle blocker Kei Tsukishima, boisterous libero Yū Nishinoya, reliable setter Kōshi Sugawara, soft-spoken wing spiker Asahi Azumane, hot-headed fellow spiker Ryūnosuke Tanaka, A-student spiker Chikara Ennoshita, and on and on. And those are just the players from Karasuno High. It isn't long before Haikyu!! introduces dozens of other characters from competing high schools, each with their own personalities, talents, vices, conflicts and grievances. The rivalry between teammates Hinata and Kageyama would be fuel enough for a first season, but the series isn't content with A-to-B plotting or routine arcs. Instead, it throws everyone into the genre blender, pushes "mince," and sits back to see what happens. The friendships and respect that develops does so naturally and organically; no small feat for what could have easily been a by-the-numbers sports anime.

The animation is fairly standard, but here again, Haikyu!! has several clever tricks up its sleeve. The net separating one character's face from another disappears when players are conversing or reacting to key shots, allowing the emotion of game to trump the bumps and spikes that comprise the action. What Hinata and his teammates are thinking, feeling or remembering is far more important to Mitsunaka and Kishimoto than the sport itself. Not that volleyball is completely sidelined. The expressiveness of the character designs and the explosiveness of their skills keep things moving nicely, with laughs, winces and cheers piling up from episode to episode. Collection 1 (episodes 1-13) steadily builds towards a solid finale too. It's not as climactic as I'd hoped, but, having watched Collection 2 (episodes 14-25) now as well, it's a midpoint that pays off. Will everyone love the series? I doubt it. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a shot. You don't need to have any affection for volleyball whatsoever to warm up to Haikyu!! It's a sports anime, yeah. Like any good sports anime, though, the game will eventually grow on you. It's the players that will keep you going.

The Blu-ray release of Haikyu!! Collection 1 includes 13 episodes spread across two BD-50 discs:

• The End & The Beginning: Hinata Shoyo is enamored with volleyball; he is in the 3rd year of middle-school, and will not be discouraged by the fact that he has no teammates to play with. He finally scrapes together a team to enter his first and last official tournament.
• Karasuno High School Volleyball Club: Before starting high school, Hinata had sworn revenge against Kageyama of Kitagawa Daiichi. But strangely enough he encounters the “king of the court” again, but this time in the gym of Karasuno High School. Their head-butting is unrelenting and they start their own match, but the third-year captain Sawamura disallows them from participating in the volleyball club until they learn to show team spirit. What now?
• The Formidable Ally: Hinata and Kageyama are challenged to a match against fellow first-years, with the aid of second-year Tanaka. While they practice for the match early one morning, Hinata demands Kageyama to give him a toss, to which Kageyama responds: “I don't think you're essential in winning,” and refuses to toss him the ball.
• The View from the Summit: Hinata and Kageyama have second-year Tanaka on their side of the three-on-three match against first-years Tsukishima and Yamaguchi and third-year team-captain Sawamura. Tsukishima keeps razzing Kageyama, but is a high wall of defense to overcome.
• A Coward's Anxiety: Kageyama is improving his natural skills as setter, and Hinata has natural speed and spring. When the two of them get synched, their combination brings them victory in the three-on-three match. So they are officially accepted as members of the Karasuno High School Volleyball Club.
• An Interesting Team: Karasuno High School Volleyball Club has challenged Aoba Johsai High School to a practice match. But even before the match begins, Hinata's anxiety level reaches maximum. And Kageyama has a "reunion" with his ex-teammate Kindaichi, who now attends Aoba Johsai.
• Versus the Great King: The Hinata-Kageyama combo is back in form again, they won the next set, Karasuno has cornered Seijoh, and they're one step closer to victory. But at that time, Seijoh's captain Oikawa who was out on hiatus visits the court. How does Karasuno respond to super-offensive setter Oikawa's powerful serves?
• He Who Is Called Ace: His term of suspension having been served, second-year Nishinoya, the "guardian god" of Karasuno Volleyball Club shows up to among club-members during practice. On the other hand, Takeda is acutely aware of the need of a coach after the Seijoh match. He tenaciously requests Ukai Keishin, grandson of the illustrious coach Ukai, to coach the team.
• A Toss to the Ace: On occasion of the practice-match against Nekoma, Sawamura tries to convince Azumane Asahi to return to the volleyball club. But Asahi refuses because he says he's lost face with Sugawara and Nishinoya. Meanwhile, Keishin, who has deep connections to Nekoma, is told by Takeda about the upcoming practice-match.
• Yearning: Asahi proves his imposing presence as ace in the Karasu versus Neighborhood Association team practice-match. Hinata gazes in a awe at Asahi who possesses both power and height that Hinata doesn't have. But Kageyama, seeing him being so enamored, takes unexpected action to make Hinata focus on the game instead.
• Decision: The Karasuno Volleyball Club is at training camp, getting ready for the practice-match against Nekoma and for the Inter-High preliminaries. Even while the team's intense training is showing promising results, Keishin is in a quandary: Who will he choose as setter against Nekoma, Kageyama or Sugawara?
• The Neko-Karasu Reunion: The practice match against Nekoma has finally begun. Karasuno, with their ace and libero back in play, battles their opponent with the Hinata-Kageyama duo's fast attacks. But Nekoma finds an unexpected tactic to stop them.
• Rival: Hinata's momentum got thwarted by Nekoma's high-level defense and powers of observations, but he powers through to try quicks without closing his eyes. But his attacks don't go too well. Aided by their teammates, however, Inuoaka and Hinata are a close matchup.

Haikyu!!: Collection 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Blu-ray release of Haikyu!! Collection 1 features an excellent 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation with little in the way of macroblocking, banding, aliasing and other issues to which high definition anime occasionally succumbs. With 13 episodes spread across two discs, there also isn't cause for any compression concerns. Colors are bold and vibrant, with consistent saturation and contrast, able-bodied primaries, and deep black levels. Detail is strong too, although it should be noted that the series' animation isn't exactly razor sharp. Still, there's nothing in the way of disappointments or distractions.

Haikyu!!: Collection 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The only audio track included on the Blu-ray release of Haikyu!! Collection 1 is a Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track. No English dub, lossless or otherwise, is available. Thankfully, the Japanese mix is quite good, with crisp, neatly prioritized dialogue, bright sound effects, decent low-end approximation (without any proper LFE support), and a fairly engaging soundscape. A fuller six-channel track would have obviously been more immersive and better suited to a sports anime, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers.

Haikyu!!: Collection 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Other than "Clean Opening & Closing Animations" (HD, 3 minutes) and a small collection of Sentai Filmworks trailers for recent and upcoming titles available on Blu-ray, there aren't any significant special features.

Haikyu!!: Collection 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The first 13 episodes of Haikyu!! took me by complete surprise. Frankly, I wasn't expecting much, and I certainly didn't expect to reach Collection 1's finale hungry for more. With character introductions out of the way and central conflicts established, I was thoroughly excited to get my hands on Collection 2... which just so happened to arrive this week. (A review is on its way soon.) Sentai's 2-disc Blu-ray release is solid as well, with a strong video presentation and a decidedly decent Japanese audio track. I do wish Section23 and Sentai provided more special features with their releases, but if that's the price we have to pay to gain access to more obscure anime on a monthly basis, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to accept.